Wed 31. Zermatt. Dearest Mother. It is raining today and the snow has fallen quite low, so you may imagine how delighted we are that we got our climb yesterday. It is a much better climb than I expected. I thought it had probably been exaggerated and that it was much to [sic] much roped, but though the Swiss side is worth nothing at all, being draped with ropes the whole way down, the Italian side is very fine, and interesting every step of the way. I left Breuil early on Monday morning, at 6 o'clock indeed, for the guides were anxious to be up at the hut betimes because of the falling stones which you are apt to have later in the day. (I made the acquaintance of Amicis, by the way, the evening after I wrote to Father, and we conversed about his books and his travels.) It was very delightful walking up to the hut over the Matterhorn meadows and up easy rocks Bellow the Dent du Lion. The mountain is full of story - here the great Carrel died of exhaustion, there so and so fell off from the rocks above and when we got onto the little Col du Lion, which separates the Dent from the main mass of the mountain, we were on historic ground, for here Tyndall and Whymper[?] bivouacked year after year when they were trying to find their way up. There is a difficult chimney just Bellow the hut, but there is a fixed rope in it so that one has not much trouble in tackling it. We got up to the hut about 11.15, a tiny little place on a minute platform of rock, precipices on either side and the steep wall of the Matterhorn above. It is very imposing the Matterhorn, and not least from the Italian hut; the great faces of rock are so enormous and so perpendicular. Unfortunately the hut is dirty and smelly as I had occasion to find out, for I spent the whole afternoon lying in the sun in front of it, sleeping and reading. It was rather enjoyable none the less. The guides went away for an hour or two to cut a few steps on the snow above and I had the whole Matterhorn to myself - no I shared it with some choughs who were circling round looking for food about the hut. About 6 a very exhausted party of two French people and two guides came down from the top and we gave them tea and sent them on their way. I don't fancy they could have reached Breuil much before midnight, they were going very slowly. At 7 we went to bed and I slept extremely soundly till about 1.30 when the guides got up and reported unfavourably of the morning. There was a thin spider's web of cloud over the whole sky, a most discouraging sign, but the moon was shining and we made our tea and observed the weather. By 3 it had distinctly cleared and we started off, without even a lantern, the moon was so bright. I knew the mountain so well by hearsay that every step was familiar - it gave one quite a thrill of recognition to climb up the Grande Tour, to pass over the little glacier of the Linceuil, the snow band of the Cravate, and to find oneself at the foot of the Grande Corde which leads back onto the Tyndall Grat. It was beautiful climbing, never seriously difficult, but never easy and most of the time on a great steep face which was very splendid to go up on. The Tyndall Grat leads up to a shoulder called the Pic Tyndall; it was dawn by this time and a very disquieting dawn too, so we hurried on for it's no joke to be caught by bad weather on this side of the Matterhorn. However the sky gradually cleared and we had our whole climb in comfort. The most difficult place on the mountain is an overhanging bit above the Tyndall Grat and quite near the summit. There is usually a rope ladder there, but this year it is broken and in consequence scarcely anyone has gone up the Italian side. There is a fixed rope which is good and makes descent on this side quite easy, but it is a different matter getting up. We took over 2 hours over this 30 or 40 ft - the actual hard place is not more than 15 or 20 ft - and I look back to it with great respect. At the overhanging bit you had to throw yourself out on the rope and so hanging catch with your right knee a shelving scrap of rock from which you can just reach the top rung which is all that is left of the ladder. That is how it is done, I speak from experience, and I also remember wondering how it was possible to do it. And I had a rope round my waist which Ulrich, who went first, had not. Heinrich found it uncommonly difficult. I had a moment of thinking we should not get him up. We got to the top at 10 and came down at a very good pace. The Swiss side is all hung with ropes - it's more like sliding down the bannisters than climbing. We got to the Swiss hut in 3 hours and were down here by 4 o'clock. We have heard that 2 porters who tried to do the Matterhorn from the Italian side this year have turned back because they cd not tackle the ladderless rock, so we feel quite pleased with ourselves.
I'm afraid I shall not get another climb - the weather looks bad. In that case I shall probably leave here tomorrow and sleep at Sion on my way to the Blumenthals where I am due on Friday. I'm so glad the play prospers. My love to Lisa. Ever your affectionate daughter Gertrude